Moroccan/No African/Arabic/Islamic 19th c copper boxes

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This rare multi-part piece of hand hammered copper and brass is part of a treasure trove of North African and Middle Eastern metal kitchenware that I have uncovered right here in sunny West Texas! Treasure on the Prairie! Several of the pieces are fairly common household items, well, common if you were in Morocco in 1890! The others would have been prized possessions in a wealthier home, therefore are seldom seen, scarce, or even rare. I love San Angelo. So many world traveling career military come here to retire. Just like here in the States, there are probably more of these rare items than we actually know about, unseen, because they are the pieces a family would hang onto generation after generation. This is a 3 piece set of kitchen/cooking copperware, consisting of a tray and 2 semi-circular canisters that fit into shapes in the tray, all covered with Islamic artwork. This is MOST unusual folks. What would canisters of this sort have held? Salt? Some sort of grain or couscous? Sesame seeds for making humous? I am trying to think of basic staples that North African or Middle Eastern cuisine would require. Something is missing, as the tray is deeper than necessary, allowing maybe 3 inches for something else to sit behind the semi-circular salt boxes. I am thinking maybe something tall that held smaller quantities of necessary herbs and spices. I hit them a bit with Brasso, not a serious polish, just enough to allow you to see the copper. I don't like things new and shiny, so, for me, this is as far as I would take a cleaning. The boxes are each 7 inches wide and the tray is 14 inches. Overall depth is 8 3/8 inches and the boxes are 4 inches tall. The last picture in the row shows a wonderful large copper box that must have been part of the same artisan's wares, also a 22 inch copper tray that I have had for maybe 20 years. They are listed in their own listings, but I have put them here for you to see.Arabic, Islamic, North African, Moroccan, Tunisian, Iranian, Iraqi, just get out your map and make your best guess. I apologize to the experts. I am afraid that most of the metalware across the Islamic world looks too similar for me to distinguish. Perhaps you can read the writing.I ship by FedEx and the post office, depending on cost and whether I think one can handle your package better than the other. .........Good job, you found the listing. So many of my shoppers are pretty new. Here are a few things that no one will probably tell you, but EVERYone will expect you to know. Customer Service is something that we have a right to expect when we are shoppers. All stores have a CS Department and it is busy all the time. If you require CS in this life, that does NOT mean that life sucks and the store sucks and your experience has been rotten. If it did, there would be no stores open anywhere in the world or else CS would have to put up bullet proof kiosks, right? As a shopper, your responsibilities, along with paying of course, include reading your email. Is your email address on file current??? CS issues sometimes arise prior to shipping. Maybe the wind crashes a shelf and your item is broken, no longer available. It would be best if the seller could inform you prior to that angry email from you that says , Hey, where's my stuff??? There are all sorts of reasons for a seller to contact you, things that don't come up in a face to face purchase. So, the shopping is easy, but check your SPAM/BULK filters for emails that could be important. Most of us are running little part time businesses. We work alone, have no fill in employee, and thanks to the internet, we make things available to folks all over the world, things we could never afford to truck around to some place where you might notice it. We all want things to go smoothly and we're all learning as we go. OK, now have a good time. Eva . . . . . . . . . . .. Now, you'd think I didn't have to say this, but read the doggone listing. If I sell you a "pink vase", don't say you're upset because it is pink. If I sell a p... read more

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